Ovechkin sets record in Caps' win vs Avs
The official game recap Washington Capitals vs Colorado Avalanche.Alex Ovechkin scored his 74th career game-winning goal for the Washington Capitals, passing forward Peter Bondra on the their all-time list in a 2-1 victory against the Colorado Avalanche at Verizon Center on Monday.
Goaltender Braden Holtby made 31 saves in his 19th consecutive start. Jay Beagle scored for the Capitals (23-11-8), who won their sixth straight home game and are 13-1-4 in their past 18 games.
Alex Tanguay scored for Colorado (18-17-8). Goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves.
Seven seconds after Evgeny Kuznetsov barely missed on a shot from the slot that struck the goalpost, Beagle scored his sixth goal at 7:34, adding to his career high. After winning an offensive-zone faceoff, Beagle skated toward the net. Tom Wilson's shot hit Jason Chimera in front of the goal, but Beagle quickly backhanded the rebound past Varlamov to give Washington a 1-0 lead.
The Capitals decidedly controlled the second period, outshooting Colorado 20-7, but the Avalanche tied the game at 10:58. On the power play after Joel Ward tripped Gabriel Landeskog, Jarome Iginla drove wide and powered past John Carlson, sliding a pass to Tanguay as he cut to the net. Holtby made the first save, but Tanguay collected his own rebound for his team-leading 13th goal of the season.
Ovechkin restored the Capitals' lead at 17:46 on the power play, beating Varlamov five-hole with his patented left-circle shot shortly after Washington wore down Colorado's penalty killers in a lengthy board battle. It was Ovechkin's 22nd of the season and sixth in his past seven games.
The Capitals complete a three-game homestand against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. The Avalanche continue their five-game road trip against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.
-- by Adam Vingan for NHL.com --
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13/01/2015 - 03:56
